Tag: handmade

I made this calendar during my freshman year of college (a lot of years ago) and used it for a couple of years. It evolved a lot over that time, and I added some fresh numbers last week when I resurrected it from the zipper-bag it’s lived in since I stopped using it. Getting my first iPhone made the whole thing kind of obsolete, iCal was in my pocket so why bother with the wall? But now that there’s two of us in the household it’s super helpful to put things that are going on up somewhere for Brooke to be reminded of. It’s super nice to be able to see a full month at once even if that means half of the weeks are in one month and half are in the other and it’s all made by me so if I don’t like something I can just print or create a new number! What do you think? Is this the kind of calendar you would use? What’s your non-tech choice for keeping up with dates? How do you communicate what’s going on with your partner/family?

I love a diy project that’s so quick and easy that I can skip pinning and go straight to crafting. These packing tape postcards took no time at all and were a lot of fun to make. The idea came from Angry Chicken, and I believe she found it in a book by Todd Oldham. So we can’t take credit, but we totally recommend giving it a try!

I picked some flowers from our porch, pulled out little bits of paper and things that I’ve held on to for years because they are too cute or cool to get rid of, but had no purpose for. An old thesaurus with the same idea behind it and some string topped the project off.

I made and mailed three, one has for sure reached it’s destination, so no troubles with the mailmen. (That blur was an address, it’s much cuter than this.)

Brooke and I really like to color (yes, we are grown ups, no we don’t have kids) and this was a fun way to get our colored things off of the fridge and not throw them away! If you’re into coloring too, or you have kids, Mady By Joel is a really fun place to get printable coloring sheets and a super nifty blog too.

We have so many friends that are moving this month! My go to housewarming gift is something small and easy to move with. If you want to get your hands on some coasters I’ve made, now’s your chance! Check them out here: coasters.

I’ve been having a lot of fun doing these mini collective virtual readings. I suppose I ought to put it out there that I am not a professional anything and I am just reading for fun. I am also a beginner at tarot and have to look up just about every card before I explain it. So while I myself get a lot out of contemplating each card and it’s meaning in my life, and hope you do the same, if you are ever in need of real help please reach out to more capable hands to whom I am happy to reference you.

Strength, another of the major arcana, depicts a woman dressed in white, the symbol of the pure-hearted and evolved part of you, lovingly approaching a wild beast, the beastial or unevolved part of you. Strength suggests what it takes to embrace yourself fully. Owning up to one’s immature qualities doesn’t have to mean letting them run wild, it can mean that the mature part of you guides it.

Some questions you might consider: Might a roaring lion be lying wait within you? What feelings are you trying to shut down? Where are you being called upon to walk your talk?

Mix sugars together and place in a BNTO. Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips in a bowl and funnel into a pint and a half size mason jar. Set the sugars in and close. Write the instructions as seen above on a card and tie or tape it to the jar and you’re good to go! The sugars can be mixed in with the rest of the ingredients, but creaming the butter with them will yeild a better cookie.

My dad and I made my tent last summer for me to take to Wakarusa. It held up and stayed dry through tornadic storms, heavy rain and wind, and mud galore.

And now, as seen above, it managed to be the coziest of tents during our camping trip at the beginning of this month. With lows around 40 degrees I stayed safe and warm in the little thing and love it just as much as ever.

Wish you had one of your own? Just request a custom order and I’ll get busy framing and sewing you the tent of your dreams!

The hoop is made from a type of lightweight tubing called PEX. I was able to get a 10′ piece at my local Home Depot, which happened to be the exact length I needed (more on that in a second). We found a male to male connecter, used a hair dryer to loosen up both ends of the tube and pressed the connecter in which we then taped over for extra stability.

I then wrapped the hoop in black electrical tape, to give it some more fun. The hoop was really slippery though, and so I ordered some gaffer’s tape in teal which adds some grip to the hoop.

I mentioned in last week’s post that the hoop my mom had was not the right size for her. The right size hula hoop should, when standing on it’s end at your feet, reach your belly button – or near there. To find out how long the tubing needed to be we measured straight up from our feet to our belly buttons and used a bit of geometry to find the circumference of a circle with that diameter.

My mom’s needed to be 6″ shorter, so we used my dad’s pvc cutter to snip that off before making her one. We didn’t make my dad one, but his would have had to be 11.5′ in circumference.

My parents have requested that I make them a variety of gluten free cookie mixes. I started with a layered oatmeal raisin mix that fit well into a large jar, but only when the recipe was halved. My next attempt was chocolate chip, and the above is what happened.. I had to use two jars.

So, I seem to be having trouble getting any of my mixes to fit into my mason jars. My frustration is that I want to use my own recipes, not those designed to fit into a jar.

I’m so excited to be sharing the details of my handmade business cards with you all today! I made these for local blogger meetups that I attend every so often. Below are a few of the designs I made recently, but what’s fun about a business card is that it can be anything you want it to be! My mom has a degree in graphic design and makes her own cards that are constantly evolving. It’s not like any one person ever gets multiples of your card, so it can totally change to fit your specific needs.

I just used my sewing machine to stich some thick red thread across the cards. I sew, so it’s relevant to me. I’ve seen some really great diy cards with washi tape, watercolor, etc. Think about how you can incorporate your talents, business, etc. into your cards! Ps. you totally don’t have to have a business to have a card! Brooke’s great idea was to put your name on one side and leave the other side blank to write the contact info that you want to give out at that particular time. Sometimes your email and phone number are necessary, and other times you just want to give someone your twitter handle! For these cards I included my twitter handle, blog address, and etsy address. It seemed the most useful for other bloggers to see what I do and contact me.

I love how each one is a little bit different! Granted, if you were going to a larger conference, this would not be practical because I only make about 10 at a time. But really, at a smaller event or in every day life that’s all you need in your pocket!

If you make some, share the link in the comments! I would LOVE to see what you guys do with this tiny bit of inspiration!! Or, if you already have a really nifty card, handmade or not, share it with us! What’s on your card and why?

We’ve made a fresh batch of our signature floppy bifold wallets for tomorrow’s make festival in Basin Spring Park in Eureka Springs, AR. If you live nearby, come check us out in person! These wallets are simple, and are perfect for holding anything from cards and cash to keys and change.

Their design keeps loose change, hair pins, and anything else you’ve stuffed in from falling out when in your bag or pocket.